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British Bookmakers Set to Make Record Contribution for Rights to Show Horse Racing

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British bookmakers are on track to make a record contribution to horse racing next year – with the bill for media rights forecast to increase by nearly £30m.

The Betting and Gaming Council’s five biggest members for horse race betting, Entain, Flutter, bet365, 888/William Hill and Betfred, expect to see a record cost increase to broadcast races.

In 2022, BGC members paid £270.1m for the rights to live stream races for customers and show them in bookmakers.

But that cost is forecast to rise to £285.3m this year, an increase of 5.6%, with members estimating a further increase to £315.2m in 2024, a further bump of 10.5%.

The combined increase for media rights costs is now expected to rise by 16.7% between 2022 and 2024.

The figures are based on data supplied by the Betting and Gaming Council’s five biggest members for horse race betting, then adjusted to include smaller operators, who must also pay for media rights.

Michael Dugher, CEO of Betting and Gaming Council, said: “BGC members are already making a record contribution to horse racing and these figures show that is only going to increase.

“This comes despite a reduction in betting turnover on racing in the last five years and a worrying decline in participation in horse race betting overall.

“Horse racing remains a hugely important, world-leading sport, enjoyed by millions of fans and like the betting industry it continues to support large numbers of jobs.

“I know racing is trying to modernise and reach out to new fans, while also trying to bounce back from the Covid pandemic and deal with some difficult economic headwinds, plus deal with the hit on its funding caused by the Government. The betting industry is dealing with many of the same pressures on our revenues and costs.

“The BGC and our members remain fully committed to working together with the leadership of the sport, including the BHA and others, to ensure a better future for racing. But the fact that we are making a record and growing contribution to the sport cannot be ignored.”

The forecast costs come after the BGC announced their members directly contributed £384m to British horse racing last year in levy, media rights and sponsorship deals.

These figures showed an increase on previous estimates for the regulated sector’s contribution, which had placed it at around £350m a year.

In addition, bookmakers spent £125m on marketing to promote racing and betting through advertisements and partnerships, which helps secure vital terrestrial coverage of the sport and raise revenue for print newspaper titles.

As well as the increased costs for media rights, levy payments are projected to be £99m in 2022/2023, according to the Horserace Betting Levy Board.

This record investment also enabled horse racing to use some of these revenues to deliver record prize money of £179.3m in 2022.

Horse racing is the second biggest sport in the UK, second only to football, with more than five million people attending around 1400 fixtures annually across 59 racecourses.

However, its popularity is in decline. In 2007, 17% of the population participated in horse race betting in the previous year, but that fell to 10% in 2018.

Meanwhile football overtook horse racing betting around the same time between 2017/2018.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has committed to reviewing the Horseracing Levy by next year.

The Horseracing Levy, which is administered by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, goes towards improving the sport, breeding and boosting veterinary care.

Betting operators are working closely with the British Horseracing Authority and racing stakeholders on much needed reforms to the fixture list and race programme which should increase commercial returns from the levy and media rights.

The regulated betting industry fully supports this once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise horse racing so it can realise its full commercial potential.

The BGC is also working closely with the government on the proposed reforms from the White Paper to ensure those who enjoy betting can continue to do so without unnecessary intrusion, while introducing improved safeguards for the minority who struggle.

Betting shops currently support around 42,000 jobs, contribute £1bn a year in tax to the Treasury and another £60m in business rates to local councils.

The wider regulated betting and gaming industry contributes £7.1bn to the economy, generates £4.2bn in tax and supports 110,000 jobs.

In April DCMS unveiled the Government’s new White Paper on gambling reform, including a number of key measures the BGC had campaigned for.

Those included a new mandatory Ombudsman for the regulated sector, enhanced spending checks online and a new mandatory levy to fund research, education and treatment to tackle gambling related harm and problem gambling.

Each month in Great Britain around 22.5m adults have a bet and the most recent Health Survey for England estimated that 0.4% of the adult population are problem gamblers.

Meanwhile the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market online is growing in the UK, with the numbers betting on these sites doubling in recent years, and the amount staked in the billions.

Alberta

St8 extends TonyBet partnership to Alberta after securing supplier registration

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St8 has extended its partnership with TonyBet into Alberta, expanding their Canada footprint following an earlier launch in Ontario this year.

Under the expanded agreement, TonyBet will use St8’s game aggregation platform through a single API integration. St8 said this provides access to its wider catalogue of casino content for players in Alberta.

St8 said the Alberta rollout follows its newly acquired registration to operate in the province as an iGaming Services Supplier, allowing it to provide aggregation services to licensed operators in the market. The company said its platform connects partners to more than 200 game providers via a single API.

David Fall, Business Development Manager at St8, said:

“Entering Alberta’s regulated market is a strong step for St8 that represents our continued efforts to bring our offerings to as many territories as possible, delivering top-tier results for partnerships at the local, national and international stage. We share this commitment with TonyBet, a company that we are very fortunate to be working with so collaboratively and closely as we continue to grow our presence across North America.”

Kiryl Liudvikevich, Head of Product at TonyBet, said:

“We’re proud that our work with St8 has enabled us to continue expanding across Canada. Through St8’s aggregation platform, we can seamlessly access games from the industry’s leading providers via a single integration, helping us scale efficiently while maintaining a strong focus on the player experience. St8 has cemented itself as our go-to partner for expansion into regulated markets, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration as we grow into new jurisdictions.”

The post St8 extends TonyBet partnership to Alberta after securing supplier registration appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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Alberta

St8 continues partnership with TonyBet with an expansion into Alberta

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Casino game aggregation platform and full-service technology provider St8 has extended its ongoing partnership with TonyBet into Alberta, furthering both companies’ expansion into Canada.
As part of the extended agreement, Tonybet will benefit from St8’s next-generation platform via a single API integration, unlocking seamless access to a wide portfolio of games from the industry’s leading providers and enhancing its casino offering for players in Alberta.
The move is the latest in St8’s successful relationship with TonyBet, having previously launched in Ontario earlier this year in a bid to continually grow in regulated markets worldwide.
This expansion was made possible thanks to St8’s newly acquired registration to operate in Alberta as an iGaming Services Supplier, enabling St8 to provide its next-generation game aggregation services to licensed operators in the region, giving partners access to more than 200 premium game providers through a single API integration.
Featuring over 3,000 games from more than 60 providers, TonyBet, meanwhile, has gone from strength to strength in its 17-year history, establishing itself as one of the industry’s leading game studios by delivering engaging titles that combine player appeal with premium gameplay.
Holding licenses in 10 different jurisdictions including Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland and Estonia, among others, Tonybet’s partnership with St8 has seen them now launch in two separate territories in Canada, with both companies working collaboratively to explore the opportunities available in exciting new markets. This latest agreement reinforces St8’s strategy of expanding its premium content portfolio while helping operators simplify integration, accelerate market entry, and deliver engaging gaming experiences across multiple regulated jurisdictions.
Speaking on the expansion, David Fall, Business Development Manager at St8, said: “Entering Alberta’s regulated market is a strong step for St8 that represents our continued efforts to bring our offerings to as many territories as possible, delivering top-tier results for partnerships at the local, national and international stage. We share this commitment with TonyBet, a company that we are very fortunate to be working with so collaboratively and closely as we continue to grow our presence across North America.”
Kiryl Liudvikevich, Head of Product at TonyBet, had this to say: “We’re proud that our work with St8 has enabled us to continue expanding across Canada. Through St8’s aggregation platform, we can seamlessly access games from the industry’s leading providers via a single integration, helping us scale efficiently while maintaining a strong focus on the player experience. St8 has cemented itself as our go-to partner for expansion into regulated markets, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration as we grow into new jurisdictions.”

The post St8 continues partnership with TonyBet with an expansion into Alberta appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

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BetBuilder

OpenBet reports $3bn staked and 175m bets during World Cup 2026

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OpenBet said its platform processed more than 175 million bets and $3 billion in stakes across its global operator customers during World Cup 2026. The supplier published the figures on 22nd July 2026, describing the tournament as its biggest-ever betting event.

The company said England’s run to the semi-finals drove high volumes across its UK-facing customers. OpenBet reported almost 5 million pre-match bets for England vs Norway in the quarter-final, with England vs Argentina close behind at 4.65 million.

OpenBet also pointed to increased demand for player-driven markets. It said 23 million Player Prop bets were processed during the tournament, up 130% versus Qatar 2022, and that the final between Spain and Argentina generated 831,000 BetBuilder bets, 39% more than four years earlier. OpenBet added that ten of the 20 most repeated bet combinations included a Player Goals or Player Stats selection, compared with four in 2022.

In-play betting rose as the knockout rounds progressed, with OpenBet saying live bets reached around one in six bets and carried higher average stakes than pre-match. The supplier said it also provided Managed Trading Services to platform customers during the tournament, covering odds creation, trading content, and risk and liability management.

Beyond sportsbook, OpenBet said its OpenBet Locator™ product processed more than 200 million location checks across regulated US states during the World Cup. Nikos Konstakis, President at OpenBet, said: “A World Cup is one of the defining moments for our industry, and this was the largest betting event our platform has ever supported.

“What stands out beyond the numbers is the extent to which player behaviour continues to evolve. Fans are no longer simply backing a result, they are building their own narrative around individual players, and our expanded BetBuilder and Player Prop offering met that demand while delivering the high-margin products operators need.

“Sustained peak load across a six-week tournament is different to managing a single event, and our platform handled it extremely well.

“The highest-profile operators trust us with the events that matter most, and this was the largest of them all.”

The post OpenBet reports $3bn staked and 175m bets during World Cup 2026 appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

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